


the magic hour

by ROSEWAR



Category: Bravely Default: Flying Fairy
Genre: Frottage, Insomnia, M/M, Masturbation, No Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-03
Updated: 2015-01-03
Packaged: 2018-03-05 02:57:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3102980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ROSEWAR/pseuds/ROSEWAR
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something Ringabel is quick to notice is that sleep doesn't come easily to Tiz. He tries to help him, but when his attraction to Tiz begins complicating things, Ringabel isn't sure what he wants anymore or if his intentions were pure from the start.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It wasn't until the day after they'd stormed the Lontano Villa that Ringabel began to notice the strangeness of Tiz's sleeping habits.

They slept separately from the girls. It was a wordless agreement, Tiz and Ringabel both wanting to respect Agnes' piousness and neither of them being especially keen on the prospect of trying to persuade Edea into sharing bedspace with them, so it left Tiz and Ringabel plenty of time to talk into the night.

While Ringabel was open enough to conversation, Tiz seemed a little reserved, especially towards nighttime. At first, Ringabel lent it to tiredness, but after so many attempts at trying to initiate conversation, only to be shut down before the candles were even blown out, he couldn't help but entertain the possibility of Tiz disliking him. It was a little odd to Ringabel, since Tiz had been the one to convince Agnes to bring him along with them, but stranger things have happened to him.

He decided not to push it or pursue it. Truthfully, Ringabel wasn't terribly bitter about it at first, was the sort to easily realize that it would be impossible to please everyone, especially with the false bravado of an act he was constantly putting on. As attached as he found himself becoming to everyone, the realization that he would most likely come to leave them upon the return of his memory is something always in the back of his mind.

That was what felt like a lifetime ago. Tiz seemed to act differently around him when the girls were present, and Ringabel found it solacing and maddening all at once. Tiz is a serious person, Ringabel assessed, and assumed that was why Tiz seemed so standoffish towards him during the night. Tiz isn't the most direct with his feelings, so perhaps Ringabel did something to offend him and he's been stewing in it ever since. Tiz is an easy fluster, so perhaps Ringabel's coquettish personality bothered him.

Ringabel justified it up and down

He did a good enough job of seeming unaffected by something he considered a minor problem, but as they drew nearer and nearer to Ancheim, Ringabel found himself becoming more and more curious.

Even Edea's dislike of him was clearly disingenuous, and Agnes was beginning to open up to him as well. That onlz leaves Tiz, which Ringabel found odd and frustrating. What does the boy dislike about him so much? Ringabel is oddly desperate to know.

And so, he tries talking to him, observing him.

Something Ringabel is quick to notice is that sleep doesn't come easily to Tiz. He lays in bed with a blank, resigned expression fixed on the ceiling, eyes half-lidded and heavy with troubled tiredness. Ringabel will watch him out of the corner of his eye until he falls asleep.

Tiz sometimes wakes him up despite his attempts at sliding out of bed without a sound. Ringabel usually lays on his side, watching the warm spot Tiz occupied, before falling back asleep. He wonders where Tiz is always going, if he is going to see Agnes. Maybe that's what this is all about.

Curiosity gets the better of him one morning; Tiz is sitting on his bed, reading something or other, and has clearly been awake for several hours already, evident in the way coldness has settled over him.

As he buttons up his shirt, Ringabel glances over his shoulder with a wry grin before asking. “Did you two have fun?”

Tiz looks up, genuinely puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“You and Agnes. You two have been visiting each other in the night, haven't you?”

Tiz pauses, and in a surprisingly calm tone, replies. “It's not like that.”

With that, he returns to his reading, and Ringabel can't tell if he's perturbed him again or if there's something going on he should be worrying about.

Ringabel becomes genuinely worried after that, and tries again and again to talk to Tiz. Some nights he's successful. They'll have short conversations about things Tiz is familiar with and interested in, but most nights end with Tiz giving monosyllabic responses.

It isn't fruitless, because even though Tiz never smiles or laughs, Ringabel can tell the boy appreciates his efforts. Again, he lends the tension to tiredness, thinks maybe Tiz is simply too exhausted to have in-depth conversations. Everything Ringabel used to soothe his frazzled nerves seems to prove correct, so he continues his pursuit of making Tiz warm up to him.

Why he's so interested in this endeavor, Ringabel can't say, but he is willing to admit that something about Tiz intrigues him. Perhaps it's that innocent farm boy charm of his, he thinks to himself, but soon after he realizes that something is terribly wrong with him if he's using words like _charm_ to describe Tiz.

Ringabel justifies it up and down. He tells himself it's the mere-exposure effect rearing its ugly head. He tells himself that it's just his longing for his lost angel being misplaced.

His excuses only get him so far, and when he watches Tiz finally smile at him after another failed attempt at conversation one night, he admits to himself that perhaps this is more than a simple desire to find his old angel.

From that night on, Tiz starts sleeping soundly.


	2. Chapter 2

The respite doesn't last long, because the night before they set off to the Wind Temple, Tiz has a nightmare.

Ringabel can tell because Tiz wakes with a shout in the middle of the night, shooting up from his nest of pillows, and subsequently waking Ringabel with his sudden motions. He props himself up on an elbow, motions slow and groggy.

“Tiz?” he asks blearily, blinking his still-tired eyes at the boy.

Even in the dark, Tiz looks shaken, still trembling, tears clinging to the edges of his eyes. He's silent for a long while, but eventually turns to look at Ringabel, relaxing instantly as if he'd happened upon something comforting and familiar. It makes Ringabel's heart leap to his throat and his stomach churn.

“It's okay-- I'm okay,” Tiz stutters in reply before sliding back into his sheets, pulling them up to his chin, and turning his back to Ringabel with a rueful, sheepish gaze. He looks reminiscent of the sleepless nights that came before they settled matters in Ancheim. “Sorry, Ringabel.”

Understanding dawns on Ringabel, but he doesn't regard it for now. He's tired, and so is Tiz. Unimaginably tired, Ringabel muses as he watches contemplation settle over Tiz.

“Don't worry about it,” Ringabel says quietly before sinking back into his own blankets. He wants to ask Tiz if he's okay, if there's anything he can do, if he wants to talk about it, but Ringabel knows there's a time and place for everything. Tiz doesn't look interested in any further conversation at the moment, so Ringabel doesn't pry.

Ringabel feels guilty falling asleep that night, knowing Tiz won't be able to.

It happens, again and again and again, and every night that passes causes Ringabel's heart to become heavier and heavier with worry. Tiz is going to fall ill or lose his mind, he thinks one night as he watches Tiz read by moonlight, and that's what compels him to break the silence.

“You seem to have trouble sleeping,” Ringabel comments idly in the dark.

Tiz is surprisingly alert, and quickly turns to look in Ringabel's direction, has difficulty making him out in the dark.

“Yeah,” is all he says in reply, expression hesitant, as if he had more he wanted to say.

Ringabel, too, is hesitant, unsure of whether or not it was appropriate for him to encroach upon such potentially intimate territory. In the end, he speaks.

“Do you remember your night terrors?”

When he's met with nothing but silence, Ringabel instantly regrets saying anything. For a moment, he contemplates just rolling over and returning to a guilt-filled sleep, but Tiz manages a response.

“Yes,” he answers simply, and something in his tone is slightly pained. “I do.”

Again, he looks like he wants to say more, but nothing follows. Instead, he watches Ringabel, looking lost and sorrowful and alone on his side of the room.

Once again, Ringabel wonders what he can do, is there anything he can do for Tiz, why can't he just take Tiz's pain away so that he can sleep. He treasured those few nights where Tiz was able to sleep soundly, looking relaxed and even happy in his rest. Now, Tiz looks even more trapped and lonely and fearful than before.

“Do you want to talk about, Tiz?” Ringabel asks cautiously.

After a pause, Tiz shakes his head slowly. “I don't know. I don't think I'm ready to face them yet.”

Ringabel makes an noise of affirmation before giving Tiz a smile that was suave and comforting all at once.

“Well, should you find yourself in need of company, I would be more than happy to hold you through the night,” he says with his usual flirtatious inflection.

For the first time in many nights, Tiz smiles. “You never stop, do you Ringabel?”

With a chuckle, Ringabel settles back into his blanket. Despite the laughter, guilt once again tugs at his heart. Being able to sleep, knowing that Tiz would be staring at the ceiling, all alone, is strangely painful.

“For you, Tiz, never,” and with that, Ringabel sighs in contentment, the image of Tiz's gentle smile branded behind his lids.

That night, he dreams of Tiz. It's a short dream, where Ringabel slips his hand behind the boy's neck and holds his gaze. Tiz says something unintelligible, they lean into each other, and kiss, chaste and innocent.

Ringabel is troubled at first, understanding on a logical level where such a dream would come from, but he can't help but be fearful for his own resolve. He's going to leave them all someday, he thinks to himself, once his memory returns and he finds out where his duty is, once he finds his angel. There's no point in becoming so attached to everyone, especially to Tiz. Becoming this attached-- it could kill him, it could absolutely kill him.

A week passes, and Tiz is able to sleep all of three nights. Each of them entails him waking Ringabel either with his distressed shouts, loud whimpers, or Tiz simply stumbling out of bed and out of their room in a dazed fright.

Ringabel says nothing during those times, unsure of what to do but feel awkward and afraid.

One night, Tiz is settled in the middle of his bed, book sitting in his crossed legs. His stare is absent, however, until he turns to Ringabel, who is already sliding under his covers.

“Um, Ringabel?” Tiz begins, sounding innocent.

With his usual grin, Ringabel turns onto his side to watch Tiz. “Yes Tiz? What can I do for you?”

There's a long moment where Tiz almost looks guilty, but it's soon replaced with a sheepishness that makes Ringabel's heart drop to his stomach. He can't help it, he has to add, “Please, do not hesitate. Your secrets and desires will always be safe with me.”

The corners of Tiz's lips twitch for a moment, seemingly comforted already.

“About my nightmares... Do you remember what you said before?” Tiz asks, squirming in place. “I know you might have been joking, but I was just wondering... Wondering if I could sleep with you.”

Ringabel stares, wide-eyed, taken back by the request. It takes him an entire second to realize what the boy meant, and smiles through the fluster rising to his face.

It's certainly unexpected, and truthfully Ringabel really was joking at the time, and _if he gets attached it's going to kill him someday,_ but in the end Ringabel does his best not to miss a beat.

It barely works.

“Er, yes! Yes, of course, Tiz,” he says, cursing his inability to maintain his playboy persona at such a crucial time. Ringabel realizes in this moment that it's become such an automatic defense mechanism that he probably couldn't control it even if he wanted to.

Tiz's face is red as well, as if the weight of his request has finally settled in the pit of his stomach, and he mutters his gratitude in bashful murmur. The atmosphere is as awkward and tense as the stilled airs of Ancheim, and it's clear that neither of them know what to do.

Ringabel turns on the charm to soothe his screaming nerves. “Well, Tiz, while I must say it isn't often that I invite another man into my bed, it would certainly be my honor to have you beside me this fine evening.”

Tiz's eyes widen in distress and confusion, _so painfully, deliciously awkward._

“Right now,” Ringabel adds on, the sides of his lips curling into his usual salacious smile. “My eagerness is getting the better of me.”

“You make it sound so weird when you put it like that!” Tiz huffs before standing to snuff out the candle at their bedside table, and that's when Ringabel shuffles backwards onto his designated end of the bed.

Tiz hesitates for a moment before finally sliding in alongside him, though his back stays turned to Ringabel. Ringabel is disappointed, but decides that he'll take what he can get.

“Goodnight,” Tiz says softly in the darkness.

“Goodnight, Tiz,” Ringabel replies, a small smile seeping into his tone.

A pregnant pause passes between them before Tiz speaks again.

“Ringabel?”

“Yes, Tiz?”

“...Thank you.”

Ringabel smiles at the back of Tiz's head before sliding his eyes shut.

“For you, Tiz, anything.”

His sleep is decidedly guiltless that night.


	3. Chapter 3

Tiz seemed to sleep soundly in Ringabel's presence, so of course he agreed to have Tiz share space with him until it no longer became necessary. “Your angelic sleeping face is all the repayment I need,” he says.

“Are you sure?” Tiz asks, hesitation written all over his face.

Ringabel quirks a brow at him. “Of course.”

“I guess I'm just worried,” Tiz finally admits, looking down between them for a moment before settling his gaze back into Ringabel's eyes.

Ringabel grins, devious. “I think I understand,” he croons, glancing about to make sure the girls are out of earshot.

“Worry not, Tiz. If I were a lesser man, perhaps your innocent trust in me would prove to be an issue, but your chastity is safe with me.”

Tiz seems confused, naivete getting the better of him, but it quickly gives way to a horrified blush, violent red blooming along his entire face and down his neck. Ringabel is painfully curious as to where else Tiz's blush spreads.

Ringabel's flirtation gives way to more conversation, and slowly but surely, Tiz begins to open up in a way not even Agnes is familiar with. Tiz tells Ringabel about his childhood home, the fabled Norende; about the sheep, the materials used to make the buildings, what his parents were like, about the cotton blossoms that came during every springtime and filled the air with their scent.

“It sounds beautiful,” Tiz remarks one night as Tiz slides into bed next to him.

“Not really,” Tiz replies, facing Ringabel for the first time since they began sleeping together. “The smell was so pungent, it would give me headaches.”

Ringabel watches Tiz's face for a moment before laughing, small and soft. The urge to embrace the boy is painful to fight off.

Tiz smiling at him and chuckling too didn't make staving his desires any less difficult.

When Ringabel falls into another guiltless sleep, he dreams of Tiz.

Tiz slides into bed next to him during one of their many nights together, and that bright red blush is present, along with a small, alluringly callow smile.

His dreamself is painfully dumb and awkward because he just stares at Tiz, hands still and eyes wide.

Tiz mumbles Ringabel's name, a soft and needy drawl, and he leans forward, grabbing Ringabel by his nightshirt, and fits their closed mouths together. He pulls Ringabel on top of him, legs spreading as if wanting to pull Ringabel as close to him as they could possibly be, and twines their legs together.

Ringabel's dreamself stutters, the boy's name passing feebly from his lips, and Tiz only responds by kissing him again, harder this time, moaning softly beneath him.

Their kiss never breaks, but somehow Tiz speaks. I've never done this before, he says in a shy and innocent voice devoid of his usual awkwardness.

This is when Ringabel wakes with a start, a harsh exhale against Tiz's cheek. He's half hard and feels unbearably hot. It takes him a moment to realize that Tiz is right next to him, laying on his back, arms folded over his chest, lips parted, breathing lightly.

Ringabel surmises it's the magic hour, because the sky has taken a strange greenness to it, and that's the last logical thought he has before he finds himself staring at Tiz's prostrate sleeping face.

He could kiss him. He could kiss Tiz right now and he would probably never know. He could kiss him, just like in his dream, and maybe Tiz would wake up, blinking his dark and sleep-dewy eyes, whisper Ringabel's name; pull him down just like in his dream, and they'd roll beneath the sheets and _Ringabel can't believe he's thinking about this._

He sucks in a sharp breath and draws away slowly so he doesn't wake Tiz, and that's when the guilt settles in. Tiz is sleeping with him because Ringabel is the only place he feels safe enough to do so, the only place where nightmares don't touch him and where the security of rest can come to him.

He can't wake him. He can never wake him.

Ringabel turns around, back to Tiz, curls up and thinks about miserable things in an attempt to stave off his erection. He thinks about how lost and confused he is without his memories, how frightening his journal is, how utterly alone he is in the world. He thinks of Tiz, how all the stories he told him about Norende will never happen again. No more cotton blossoms, no more whitewood buildings and orange-skied summer evenings. He thinks about how utterly alone Tiz is in the world, and Ringabel curls into himself tighter.

The next night, Ringabel has the same dream, and Tiz has another nightmare.

Ringabel wakes up first, Tiz's loud whimpers jarring him out of his troubling reverie, and the first thing he does is watch, try to assess Tiz in the darkness.

He's obviously distressed, wracked with terror; his mouth is open, wet with worry no doubt from his teeth, and his brows are pulled tight together. His shoulder twitches as another stutter of a moan rips through him.

Ringabel feels sick to his stomach when he realizes how enraptured he is by the way Tiz is prostrate and helpless and slick with sweat. The feeling passes quickly, however, and he props himself up on an elbow and wonders what to do.

“Tiz,” he leans in and whispers, shaking the boy's shoulder. Tiz doesn't respond, doesn't even twitch or make a noise, and Ringabel can't help but worry more.

"Tiz!" he tries again, shaking him harder this time, and all his efforts gain him is Tiz rolling onto his side, facing Ringabel, and another loud whimper.

The name on Tiz's lips is a familiar one, Ringabel thinks it's Tiz's own name, but it inflects differently at the end. Now isn't the time to think of such things, he thinks to himself with urgency. Again, he wonders if there's anything he can do, if there's anything he can do at all. His reassurance, their accumulating closeness, sharing a bed-- none of it seems to be working, Tiz is still unable to sleep soundly.

In the haze of his distant, impalpable memories, Ringabel can recall very few instances of feeling this helpless and useless.

He contemplates slapping Tiz awake, but the idea sits bitterly on his tongue and is impossible to swallow. No, that won't do at all, Ringabel couldn't raise a hand to the boy in good conscience. He tries another shake, and it almost seems to work, but Tiz tosses his head and cries out as if in agony, hands thrusting forward and hitting Ringabel's chest.

"Tiz! Tiz, get ahold of yourself!" Ringabel tries in a firm voice, grabbing Tiz by the wrists to prevent him from thrashing any more violently. He even tries shaking the extremities in the hopes that they'll work.

Tiz only cries out again, a forlorn wail, and Ringabel is truly at a loss. He continues calling the boy's name and shaking him and loathing himself for being unable to do more, for wanting to do more but not trusting himself to keep his impurity at bay.

Ringabel wants to hold him, kiss him awake. He wants to make Tiz's pain go away.

Eventually, Tiz awakens with a start, trying to pull his wrists away reflexively. Ringabel doesn't let go so easily, instead catching Tiz's frenzied and wide-eyed gaze.

An awkward silence passes between them, Ringabel holding Tiz, Tiz breathing hard through his nose.

Tiz is the first to speak. "I'm sorry."

Ringabel says nothing at first, releases both a bated breath and Tiz's wrists as he finally allows himself to unwind.

"Ringabel, I'm so sorry..." Tiz offers again, distress all over his features, as if he were fully conscious of what he had just done.

"Tiz," Ringabel begins in a hushed tone as he settles back into his pillow. Slowly, he asks, "Are you alright?"

Tiz only shakes his head.

"I..." he trails off at first before slumping back into his pillow. "I don't know. I'm--"

"Don't apologize again," Ringabel cuts in, "Truly, I am not bothered or offended. Merely concerned."

Tiz, flat on his back, turns to look away from Ringabel. Ringabel wants to cup his cheek, force Tiz to look at him, suck the worry from his heart through his mouth.

"I don't think I'm ready to talk about it," is all Tiz says, before adding, "I'll understand if you don't want me sleeping beside you anymore."

Ringabel's warm chuckle belies the guilt settling in his stomach, a familiar and unwanted sensation. He's getting tired.

"What a fool I would be if I denied the opportunity to have you in my bed," he says, voice soft but coquettish.

Tiz doesn't seem to buy it. Ringabel tries again.

"If it would please you, might I offer to hold you in my arms while you sleep? The only thing better than having you warm my bed would be to have you warming my body, you know," Ringabel adds with his usual playful tone. If he had it in him, he would wink.

"I just...don't want to push you away," Tiz says, still not looking at Ringabel. His upset seems to increase.

"You could never do any such thing," Ringabel replies, staving off a yawn. He smiles fondly at Tiz, tries to catch his eyes but fails. "I can assure you, I will pursue you with fervor and diligence no matter what you say."

For a moment, Tiz seems soothed by those words, and finally he turns to look at Ringabel. The small smile he gives makes Ringabel's heart warm.

"Let's try to go back to sleep," Tiz says softly. He slides his eyes shut, and perhaps unconsciously, scoots a bit closer to Ringabel.

Ringabel wants to reach out and touch him, anywhere will do, but he refrains. Instead, he does as instructed and shuts his eyes.

"Sleep sounds good," he says, inching closer as well. They don't make contact, but the heat radiating between them is comforting enough to Tiz, maddening enough to Ringabel.

"Goodnight, Ringabel."

"And a goodnight to you, Tiz."


	4. Chapter 4

Ringabel doesn't know if Tiz actually sleeps at night, or if he lays in a discontent insomniac daze, but he doesn't feel or hear Tiz being tormented by nightmares. He tells himself things are going swimmingly between them.

They banter with increasing familiarity during the day, Edea often joining in, and with Agnes gradually opening up as well. The three start succumbing to an inevitable closeness that people who aren't blood related tend to fall into. The mere-exposure effect, he tells himself.

Ringabel notices that Tiz inches closer and closer every night, and eventually their shoulders even touch. One night, Ringabel has his back turned to Tiz, being soothed by the floral air freshener on his side of the room, and Tiz is turned, watching his back. When Tiz miraculously falls asleep, Ringabel turns around and watches him.

Once again, Ringabel is plagued by that same dream. Tiz pulls him on top of him, sighs his innocence, and then they kiss. Instead of ending there, Ringabel finds that the kissing begins to escalate, Tiz arching up into him, turning his red face away to moan softly and eye Ringabel from beneath endless lashes.

Ringabel says nothing, merely cups Tiz's cheek and takes another kiss, this one saturated with the wetness of saliva and tongues sliding together. Tiz lets off a keening noise. his arms wrapping around Ringabel's shoulders, and once again arches into his body, their groins pressing hard together and sending electricity into every vein of Ringabel's body.

Ringabel's hands wander into Tiz's hair, pushing it back and taking a strange delight in the way it simply falls back into place. Tiz tilts his head back into the touch before uttering a silent plea for more.

Touch me, Ringabel, he says sweetly, and Ringabel's dreamself obliges wordlessly. He slips a hand up Tiz's nightshirt, traces the undulation of ribs with his fingertips, Tiz humming in delight with every brush.

Before Tiz can ask for more, as Ringabel's dreamself is certain he will, he grinds his hips down and Tiz whimpers just like he's having a nightmare, a high and helpless noise, but he lifts his hips and reciprocates the movement.

Suddenly, Ringabel finds himself on his back with Tiz between his legs this time. Ringabel is vaguely aware that this is a dream and things don't need to make sense, but any conscious train of thuoght is derailed when Tiz exhales a soft, hot breath against the tip of his length.

Ringabel sighs deeply, tilting his head to look directly down at Tiz, who only smiles up at him.

You'll be my first, Ringabel, he says in a tone that's once again syrupy-weet. With that, he drags his lips down along the underside of Ringabel's erect cock and that's when Ringabel wakes up.

Once again, it's the magic hour, and Ringabel is achingly hard this time. Tiz is still asleep, and deeply so. Ringabel doesn't want to get up and potentially stir Tiz, since the boy falling asleep is always a blessing, but his stillness leads to his thoughts wandering back to his dream.

He can't help but feel repulsed with himself, wondering if his subconscious is telling him that he is terribly enraptured by Tiz's innocence and perhaps even his helplessness when he's in bed with him. Or maybe Ringabel is Tiz, he's the one who is helpless and wanting and painfully innocent. Maybe he wants to be wanted so desperately that he would forgo sleep.

Ringabel throbs at the thought, the idea of Tiz wanting him so much that he would forsake the potential of a soothing sleep just to be with him.

He feels horrifically repulsed, as if he were taking advantage of the boy despite having done nothing to him. Having these perverse dreams about him, and in his presence no less... It was unsettling, made his sleeps even more guilty than they were before.

As slowly and gently as could be, Ringabel pushes his share of the covers off of himself, wincing at the sudden coldness hitting his exposed skin, and sidles out of bed. He lifts himself slowly, not wanting to chance any disturbance whatsoever rousing Tiz, and much to his relief, he is successful.

Once he's up, he takes a few hurried steps to the bathroom, closing the door slowly and deliberately, before leaning against it and sinking wordlessly to the floor.

Terrible, he thinks to himself. You are truly terrible, a real class act.

He spreads his knees apart, trying to focus on the mechanicalness of it all in an attempt to dull the guilt eating away at him, but it returns in spades when he slips his pajama pants down to his thighs and takes his cock in hand.

A shaky breath passes from between his lips as he gives himself a slow, gratifying pump, and for a moment he wonders if he's really going to do this.

The image of Tiz's hand wrapped around him, on his knees before him on the bathroom floor, comes to mind, and all of the sudden Ringabel is gripping himself tighter and moving at a more satisfying pace.

Ringabel tries to keep his eyes open, tries to chase Tiz out of his mind, but all he can think about is his dream and how sumptuous Tiz looked, how nervous but eager he was. He slides his eyes shut, blessed darkness enveloping him, but the respite doesn't last long.

Tiz comes to mind once again, and Ringabel goes back to imagining Tiz is here in the bathroom with him, that it's his hand instead of his own, that Tiz's shy gaze is fixed on his cock in a nervous attempt to avert his gaze. Ringabel would want to watch though, would want to see his face as he stroked him, so he would reach out and pull Tiz's face up to meet his gaze. Tiz would go bright red, the delightful blush blossoming all over him,

Ringabel exhales heavily as he runs curved fingers against the head of his length, which is already slick with precum. He hasn't done this in awhile, hasn't exactly had the time. He wonders vaguely if he had any need to do this in his previous life, thinks of his lover, wonders if he would be willing to abandon them for Tiz should his memories return to him.

He doesn't know what he would say if the situation arose.

To take his mind off such depressing matters, he chooses to indulge in the debauchery of his fantasy, imagining Tiz increasing his pace a little bit as his breathing picked up. Ringabel nearly loses himself to a loud moan when he gives his wrist a sharp twist upon ascending, but he remembers Tiz, the sleeping Tiz, is just outside and in desperate need of rest. Ringabel's mouth hangs open instead, settling for taking large, gasping breaths as he works himself with a quicker tempo.

Suddenly, it's difficult to imagine Tiz touching him so intimately, or sucking him off or asking for anything more, because Ringabel is sorely aware that the boy is right outside, asleep, unsuspecting of what he's doing. With that, the guilt and revulsion settles in again, and he wonders how he allowed himself to come to this. It's far too late to stop though, the ache between his legs is too much to bear and he imagines that running the shower would wake Tiz up.

He's in too deep.

For now, he surrenders himself to the filthiness of it all, tries to imagine Tiz again, pumps himself with a renewed fervor when he imagines Tiz's soft breath teasing the head of his cock when he asks Ringabel if he likes it, if he's doing alright, if he's close. He would tell him yes, you're wonderful Tiz, don't stop you lovely, lovely boy.

Ringabel gasps audibly, curling in on himself as comes painfully close to completion. He imagines Tiz reaching down curiously to tease at his balls and watching his face as he feels the tremors of Ringabel's legs caging him, and the ghost of a whisper in his mind, Ringabel, in Tiz's soft voice drives him over the edge.

He comes with a voiceless shout, shamefully hard, the sight of his cum spurting on Tiz's face, on the bridge of his nose and on his lips and cheek, are the last things he sees before stars sparkle behind the darkness of his eyes.

Ringabel sits there for a moment, heaving silent breaths with a blank mind. It doesn't take long for the shame to return in spades, and he contemplates remaining fixed to his spot forever and ever, but eventually concedes to cleaning up his mess, washing his hands, and slowly, hesitantly, opening the bathroom door.

The magic hour is still upon them, and this time Ringabel is the one who is awake earlier than anyone else, eyes dark and heavy with sleeplessness.

In spite of what had occurred that particular morning, Ringabel is able to get back into the swing of sleeping with Tiz again with little issue. Part of him is apprehensive because he can't help but let his gaze linger on the curve of Tiz's neck, or the hollow of this throat, or the plushness of his lips, but in the end he's able to control himself. Ringabel wonders where such temperance comes from.

Things seem alright as things stand. Tiz may awaken in the middle of the night every now and then, but otherwise he sleeps without issue. It isn't until a week or so later that he has another night terror.

Ringabel tries shaking him awake again, tries squeezing his wrists and shout-whispering his name and even pats him on the cheek as if that would make a difference. Tiz struggles for a long while, fingers flexing forward, that familiar name coming out in a dazed but loud slur.

When Tiz awakens, Ringabel is gripping his wrists and staring at him with a fearful concern. Tiz softens in his hold, stares back at him with a frightened and nervous expression of his own. He opens his mouth to speak, no doubt an apology ready to spew forth.

"Don't," Ringabel interrupts him before he can begin. "It's alright."

Tiz slips his hands out of Ringabel's hold and goes lax against his pillows, slowly but surely relaxing as his wits return to him.

"It's not okay," he says forlornly, though there's a slight edge in his voice. "I can't keep doing this to you, Ringabel. There's no reason to put you through this just because I'm the one who can't sleep."

Without thinking, Ringabel reaches forward, curls a hand around Tiz's shoulder.

"Listen, Tiz. I am doing this for you because I want to. That's all there is to it."

"I know... I know you said that, but..." Tiz follows the trail of Ringabel's arm up to the man's face, watching him.

Ringabel shakes his head. "But nothing. I care about you. I wish to help you, to be there for you."

Even in the darkness, Ringabel can make out the faint slopes of a smile on Tiz's face. It's small, but it's there, and something in Ringabel's chest blossoms with relief and happiness.

"Thank you, Ringabel."

Ringabel smiles back before withdrawing his hand, though he certainly longed to keep it there.

"But of course, my dear Tiz," he replies with his usual lilting tone. "What sort of gentleman would I be if my bed was not a place of comfort?"

Tiz chuckles warmly, moves a bit closer to Ringabel.

"Edea is right, you really do flirt with anything that has a pulse," he says with a palpable fondness.

Ringabel laughs briefly in turn. "I can't help it! When I see someone so lovely such as yourself, I can only pursue them with all my heart!"

Tiz hums, though it's difficult to tell whether it's from his own awkwardness or in appreciation.

"We should sleep," he finally says before settling in bed and drawing the covers up to his chin.

Ringabel's smile softens as he slides his eyes shut and nods in the darkness.

"Yes, of course," he begins, his words petering off into a yawn. Before he goes completely silent, he adds one more thing. "Tiz?"

The boy hums again, tilting his head to look up at Ringabel.

"What is it, Ringabel?"

"In all seriousness, if there is anything I can do to help you, you need not hesitate to ask."

Tiz is quiet for a long moment, as if he were turning the offer over in his head a few times. "Okay. I will," he finally responds in a soft, cozy murmur of a voice.

The two say nothing more before sleep pulls them under. They both end up waking late into the morning.


	5. Chapter 5

The next few nights are uneventful, though Tiz has returned to rousing in the middle of the night every now and then, and it isn't until the night before they are to leave Florem for the Water Temple that Tiz comes to Ringabel once again.

"Um, Ringabel?" he asks before turning the knob of the light situated on the wall, the faint smell of flowers still palpable in the darkness.

"Yes, fair Tiz? What can I do for you?" Ringabel asks as he scoots into his side of the bed.

Tiz hesitates at the side of the bed, as if he were afraid of slipping in quite yet.

"About what you said a few nights ago..." he begins, tone suddenly sheepish. "I know you were probably joking, but..."

Ringabel sits up, propped up on his elbows, and watches Tiz curiously. He has to admit, he can't quite remember what the boy is talking about.

"Yes, do go on."

"Well..." Tiz manages, though he is still painfully awkward. "I was wondering if you could do it. H-- Hold me, while I sleep."

Ringabel feels his face heat up, and he wonders if he's dreaming.

"A-Ahh, well," he sputters dumbly. He wants to say no, that's going a bit too far for his comfort, he doesn't want to have another one of his foul dreams while Tiz is so close to him.

Ringabel thinks about Tiz's tranquil sleeping face, and how close they've become in the last month and a half.

He realizes that he can't say no.

"Yes, Tiz. Yes, of course. It would be my honor to do so."

Slowly, he moves a bit closer to Tiz's side of the bed before lifting the sheets in an inviting manner.

Tiz almost seems unconvinced of Ringabel's sincerity in spite of his motions suggesting he was genuine. Ringabel wonders if Tiz thinks this is a dream too.

When Tiz slides in, so close the heat radiating from his body is unbearable, there is a tense and silent moment where the two simply linger by each other's side as if wondering how to approach Tiz's request. Finally, Ringabel takes the initiative and slides an arm around Tiz's chest, hugging him close, nose pressed to his temple.

The position is awkward with Tiz on his back, so he turns to face Ringabel, face buried in his neck, and reciprocates the hold, arm slung over Ringabel's chest.

It's surprisingly soothing once their initial nerves are out of the way, and amazingly enough, Tiz relaxes into the embrace and sags against Ringabel's body.

Tiz sighs into Ringabel's neck and mumbles an inaudible goodnight, to which Ringabel responds with a mere nudge with his chin to the top of Tiz's head. Nothing happens that night, Tiz doesn't have a nightmare, Ringabel doesn't have one of those salacious dreams. Things are calm, finally looking up.

Occasionally, Ringabel will rouse in the middle of the night from a need to adjust his position or reawaken a sleeping limb, and he'll find himself watching Tiz sleep for a few long moments. His peaceful face and the part of his lips are especially enrapturing, along with the sliver of his clavicle exposed by his night shirt. However, Ringabel tries not to let his gaze linger for long in fear of coaxing his dreams out of hiding and effortlessly ruining everything he has done for Tiz in an instant.

A few more nights like this pass, and Ringabel feels himself slowly becoming accustomed to such intimate company, though in the back of his mind he can't help but anticipate something going wrong sooner or later.

His assumption proves to be correct, because soon after the two of them fall into a routine, Tiz has his nightmarish fits again.

Ringabel squeezes him tight this time to prevent Tiz from lashing out. The whole thing is a lot less dramatic this way, he notes while shushing Tiz quietly, clinging to the boy as if he were the one seeking solace. Tiz squirms and twitches in Ringabel's arms, but he manages to awaken without any kind of commotion. His eyes flutter open and he looks up from beneath his lashes, barely able to make out Ringabel in the darkness.

"R-- Ringabel?" Tiz asks, slowly latching onto the man as if he were merely reading the atmosphere and going with the flow.

Ringabel nuzzles the top of Tiz's head with his chin. "You were having another nightmare."

"Oh," Tiz replies as if he didn't know what else to say. Rather than trying to search for needless words and apologizing profusely as he normally would, Tiz presses himself closer to Ringabel, buries his face in the man's neck, and breathes his scent in.

The heat and radiance could very well drive Ringabel mad with desire, but he does his best to keep his wanting at bay by indulging in another nuzzle, sighing softly in contentment as Tiz holds onto him.

"Thank you, Ringabel," Tiz finally says.

Ringabel is too tired to put up any of his usual pretenses. "The pleasure is all mine, Tiz."

Tiz dislodges briefly to peer up at Ringabel's face. When they lock gazes, Ringabel notes that the distance between their noses is dreadfully small. If he wanted to, he could lean in and kiss Tiz right this instant.

"This is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me," Tiz adds, watching Ringabel's face as if searching for any sign of disapproval.

"I really appreciate it," he concludes. "To tell you the truth, I still can't believe you would do all this for me."

Ringabel doesn't know what to say, can only hold Tiz's gaze in fascination as the distance between them is decimated further and further.

Tiz is the one who leans in first, going for the kill with only a moment of hesitation. He fits their mouths together in an awkward way only the inexperienced can manage. Truthfully, Ringabel can't recall ever kissing anyone either, though he'd like to think he has _some_ experience under his belt with his angel, but his forgotten lover is the farthest thing from his mind at the moment because Tiz is right here, in his arms, clinging to him.

They kiss and kiss and kiss, growing hazy to the darkness around them. Tiz is surprisingly forward, is the first to experiment with his tongue, tracing the tip of it along the inside of Ringabel's bottom lip to coax his mouth open. Ringabel obeys, his own tongue peeking out to greet Tiz's with a shy press.

Unlike in his dreams, Tiz is the one who rolls on top of him, a pleasant weight that Ringabel can feel is growing feverish. He makes up for his lack of initiative by sliding his hands up Tiz's shirt, fingertips skirting along warm skin promising slight muscle. Tiz whimpers at the simple brushes alone, and makes another soft noise when Ringabel's touch becomes more palpable, his palm and the length of his fingers pressed to Tiz's sides.

Tiz tilts his head away from their kiss with a gasp, their lips catching at an odd angle, and his hips cant forward when he feels Ringabel's hands linger at the small of his back. He probably didn't mean to grind their clothed erections together, but he's quick to decide he likes the result and does it again, albeit more slowly this time.

Ringabel forgoes hesitation and grabs handfuls of Tiz's ass before reciprocating the movement of Tiz's hips, rolling his own up to press against Tiz. Tiz moans against Ringabel's chin before he finds his hands settling on Ringabel's chest, clutching fistfuls of fabric in an attempt to anchor himself.

He desperately tries to fit their mouths together again, and feeds Ringabel a keening moan when he's successful. Ringabel gives Tiz's ass another squeeze and ruts against him in a bid to draw another one of those delicious reactions out of him, and Tiz delivers with enthusiasm. He begins to buck forward with a steadily growing rhythm, enjoying the feverish pleasure radiating from their point of unison.

Ringabel meets every rock forward with his own tantric thrust, and they soon settle on a pattern that makes Ringabel's world narrow down to Tiz and the heated press of their confined cocks pressing together.

They continue like this for a long while, rutting against each other fully, muffling each other's moans and gasps with sloppy kisses and the smack of their lips. Ringabel cums first, thrusts his hips into Tiz's with a series of frenzied and unrefined movements before his body locks up and a familiar stickiness wets him. He unwinds with a few drawn-out thrusts, and kneads at Tiz's ass as if coaxing him to follow along with him.

Tiz finishes not long after, whispering Ringabel's name over and over as he grinds against him with mounting urgency until he too goes rigid and gives a few slow rolls of his hips. He settles atop Ringabel completely, sagging against him and breathing heavily.

After a few drawn-out and languid kisses, Tiz finally rolls off Ringabel with a soft hitch of his breath. The silence betwen them is comfortable at first, and Ringabel even contemplates turning onto his side to embrace Tiz and kiss him a bit more.

However, the gravity of what they'd just done begins to settle upon them with a stifling tenseness, and soon their silence becomes thick and heavy. Neither of them dare to speak, however, which Ringabel can tell distresses Tiz somewhat.

He tries to ease the awkwardness. "Tiz?"

Tiz only hums in response and curls in on himself.

Ringabel isn't sure when he fell asleep, but when he awakens, feeling rather disgusting, Tiz is already gone. Not even the vestiges of his warmth remain.

Unsure of what to make of the entire situation, what to make of what they _did_ and how utterly unlike his dreams it was, Ringabel is grateful that their group had spent the day apart, each member needing a bit of time to themselves. He didn't want to avoid Tiz, but the sheer _awkwardness_ of it all has him wanting a bit of time to formulate what exactly he wants when all is said and done.

When the time to sleep rolls around, Tiz lingers at the side of Ringabel's bed with an apprehensive gaze, and the first thing to come to Ringabel's mind is that Tiz regrets what they'd done. Despite this, he offers Tiz his usual share of the bed.

He breathes an inward sigh of relief when Tiz wordlessly slides in next to him after a pregnant, silent pause. Neither of them speak, and Ringabel is pulled into an oddly peaceful slumber.

However, like clockwork, Ringabel awakens momentarily for the magic hour, and rouses with a soft hum when he realizes that Tiz is simply laying at his side, watching him with a tired, heavy-lidded gaze.

Without thinking, Ringabel asks. "Did you sleep?"

Tiz blinks himself into slight alertness, and peers up at Ringabel. He shakes his head.

A beat of silence passes between them.

"It's okay if you don't want me here," Tiz says, voice soft and tone tentative. "I know we crossed a line last night."

It's Ringabel's turn to shake his head. "I don't regret it."

Tiz relaxes somewhat at this, but Ringabel continues.

"I only wish there was more I could do for you."

"This is my problem," Tiz says with a calm tone. "There isn't anything you really _can_ do."

Ringabel knows this, so he says nothing. Instead, he opts to squirm forward and slide an arm around Tiz's middle. His motions are languid, equal parts tired and seeking permission.

They lay in silence, basking in each other's warmth and the odd blue-green dimness of the sky outside their window, sleeplessness binding them together for the moment.

"Ringabel?" Tiz asks.

Ringabel hums in response, and gives Tiz's forehead a bump with the tip of his nose.

"We're okay?"

"Of course, Tiz," Ringabel murmurs, the small smile tugging at his lips seeping into his tone. "As long as you'll have me, I'll always be here to hold you while you sleep."

As if the confirmation was the only thing holding him back, Tiz reciprocates the hold and clings to Ringabel's body like a second skin. The action is one of pure trust.

Ringabel gives Tiz a slight squeeze before adding, "Among other things, of course."

"Ringabel," Tiz mumbles with disingenuous exasperation as he shuts his eyes.

They both manage to fall asleep together, and awaken when it's almost noon.


End file.
